Inara eased down into Mal’s bunk carefully, assuming that the Captain might be already asleep. She knew Simon had given him something a little stronger than usual when he’d wrenched his ankle painfully earlier in the day.

So, she was surprised to see him still leaning back against the bulkhead with a book in his hands. Upon closer examination, she saw in the soft light of the bedside lamp that he had indeed fallen asleep, the book resting lightly against his abdomen.

She tiptoed over to the bed, removing her clothing as she went. Realizing that the book he held was the book of poetry he’d procured on their morning away from Serenity a few weeks ago, she smiled as she tried to dislodge it from his lax grip.

Despite the mild sedative effect of the pain meds Simon had provided, Mal was awake instantly. “Tryin’ to steal my book, darlin’?” he asked lazily, causing Inara to jump in startled surprise.

“It didn’t look like you were reading it anyway, just then,” she said, letting go of the book and settling into bed beside him.

Mal sighed in contentment, still amazed even after all their months together that Inara chose to come to his bed more nights than not. He pulled her closer to his side, reaching to turn off the light.

“Wait,” Inara said.

Mal looked at her quizzically.

Inara’s smile was like an electric current running straight down his spine. “Read to me,” she said, her voice a sultry purr.

Mal balked at the notion. “Ain’t there somethin’ else you’d rather be doin’?” he asked, running one warm hand down her back to the base of her spine.

Inara shivered at the seductive touch, but she was undeterred from her purpose. “I want you to read to me, Mal,” she said softly, leaning up to nibble at his earlobe. “And if you read very well, I’ll read to you later.”

Having found some particularly interesting passages already, Mal figured that reading the book might be conducive to his other plans for the evening. “All right, bao bei, you win,” he said lightly.

He turned to one of t